Dad and I had a lovely day out yesterday. We first drove to Midmar Church to visit dad's parent's graves (Chrissy Murray and Donald Duff), then we drove around the area where his parents were farmers and where dad was brought up. He pointed out the Mill of Hole where my great-grandfather was the saw-miller, and the house where dad was brought up at Tillybirloch, as well as the houses of other relatives - all changed now and looking very different. He also pointed out the field where my grandad lost a finger in a threshing machine and the brae where dad himself almost came to grief cycling down it on a bike with no brakes!
In this image, the most meaningful gravestone for me is the central one, and commemorates dad's parents, and both his sisters. On the left is the gravestone of dad's maternal grandparents and dad's aunt Carrie. On the other side is a stone which commemorates dad's mum along with her brothers and sisters.
We had a lovely day out. It was nice for dad to take a wee step back in time, and for me to learn a bit more about his life. Precious moments indeed.
A wonderful day for you both - so lovely to be able to do this with your dad. I love that you were able to find out about his family and his young days. We often don’t ask or even think about these things until it’s too late to ask! A real blessing!
How lovely to find out all these things about family. Only wish there was anyone left in my family who could tell me........none of my relations ever wanted to talk about the past.......have only been able to glean a few facts and hearsay !
We share the same great-grandparents. My Grannie was Janet Murray. I was speaking to your Dad (on the phone) a couple of weeks ago and he mentioned that you were living locally now so I thought I'd see if I could track you down. I suppose I could have just asked him, but I forgot. at the time. This photo of the graves certainly confirmed who you were. Anyway, pleased to meet you Issi!
@stevesmythe Well hello there Mr Smythe - pleased to meet you too! Dad had mentioned that you had been in touch. I'm actually popping up to see him this afternoon. He's almost 87 now, and doing pretty well. I remember going to visit Auntie Janet on occasion - although I was fairly young at the time. Feel free to contact me by e-mail, if you wish : jamibann@hotmail.com and we can exchange news!
July 29th, 2020
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We share the same great-grandparents. My Grannie was Janet Murray. I was speaking to your Dad (on the phone) a couple of weeks ago and he mentioned that you were living locally now so I thought I'd see if I could track you down. I suppose I could have just asked him, but I forgot. at the time. This photo of the graves certainly confirmed who you were. Anyway, pleased to meet you Issi!
Steve